


An Undercut To Solve World Hunger

by OreoPromises



Series: Picture Prompts [6]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Manga & Anime, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Student Armin Arlert, Student Mikasa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 02:09:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13203522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoPromises/pseuds/OreoPromises
Summary: One day Eren, Mikasa and Armin spot a new customer in their favourite spot- a manga shop and cafe- whilst preparing for university. At least, most of them were preparing, Eren has other things on his mind.





	An Undercut To Solve World Hunger

**Author's Note:**

> L

The bell above the shop’s creaky door sounded its lilting tune, bringing a wave of greetings on the warm air that welcomed the entering party. A musty smell- laced through with sugar and something burnt- rushed to meet them, replacing the brisk, numb air of late November. Eren watched as Mikasa unwound a scarlet scarf from her neck, Armin jumping slightly to fight off the chill clinging to his bones, and surveyed the shop around him.

The store was split into two sections- the area around them the shop itself, followed by a small cafe area, cut three steps below the aisles. The lights were dim and yellow towards the cafe, yet where they stood was darker still, lit only by the lights lining the walls: a chaos of neon letters and rotating circular lights spinning from atop shelves, the ceiling dominated by a rather old looking disco ball which sprung diamonds of silver amongst the racks. They had become regulars at the little shop in the last year or so, Armin fond of the snacks and Mikasa fond of the atmosphere. Eren was the real reason they came though, his obsession with manga blunted slightly by the rows and rows of book racks. The shop held so many editions that along the bottom of some aisles the books were simply held in wired baskets to sift through. He lived and breathed this place, and the group always suggested a visit to his favorite shop if something was bothering him. They had no problem with him getting lost in the pages, and were currently making their way down to the cafe counter.

Like clockwork they ordered Eren the sweetest hot drink available and left the lidded cup next to him as he searched. Mikasa briefly browsed through the CD racks towards the shop’s front before returning to Armin and beginning their weekly revision session. They had tried to get Eren to participate towards the start, but had soon given up. As long as he wasn’t failing classes they stayed out of his schoolwork- even when they had quickly increased their own study times, university looming only a few months away.

Just as he heard the familiar background noise of his friends’ voices sound, Eren felt the presence of someone nearby. He had settled in the rack against the back wall, legs crossed under him as he gripped a manga between his livening fingers, and felt a shadow cross his gaze. Looking up he saw someone else in the aisle, flicking through the CDs at the opposite end with slim fingers. The stranger wore a leather jacket and dark turtleneck, and though Eren was beginning to think he stared too openly, the older man didn’t seem to notice at all. Dark hair fell across the man’s forehead, just stopping short of shadowed eyes, sharp enough to make the neon lights blur and dim as his gaze shifted to Eren’s. As he turned Eren could see past the headphones he wore too, revealing an undercut that Eren had not been expecting. The man made no expression as he returned Eren’s staring and the young boy was beginning to get uneasy, flashing a grin he hoped was simply polite and tumbling down the steps to his right.  
Collapsing in the booth as quickly as he did drew a small squeal from Armin- who he had collapsed into a little too forcefully- Mikasa not even glancing up from her notes. Armin was looking at his face in confusion, but seemed to drop the matter as Eren raised the book in his hands to his face and began reading again. A moment later he saw a cup placed on the table below his book with a click- Eren lowered the manga again, to see the man with the undercut with his hand on the cup.

“You left this, over there.” The man’s voice was surprisingly rough, deeper than imagined, and with a clear accent anything but local. Now that he was closer Eren could see he was also fairly short, though the initial intimidating atmosphere still hung strongly around his frame.  
“Th-Thanks.”  
The man inclined his head slightly before stalking off to the aisles again- leaving the table in stunned silence- Eren’s actions of watching him reclimb the stairs not being missed by his gaping friends.  
Turning back to the table Eren found his friends staring at each other with blown eyes. “Eren” they turned their heads slowly to him in perfect union- Eren may have laughed, if he could remember how “who was that?”  
His friend’s voice had came out a squeak, and Eren found himself only shaking his head in reply, before bringing his cup to his lips and drawing long draughts of the sugary liquid, honey lacing the back of his throat.

Late November had frozen to December when the trio found themselves wandering again through back streets to their favorite little cafe. The stress of the last month had mostly kept them from their precious hiding place, too many deadlines and family dramas to keep track off, and none of them commented on the obvious hurry in their joint pace. Practically bursting through the door, the friends paused to huff out small laughter with the winter air. Even Mikasa and Armin took their time looking through the racks and racks of printed pages before making their way languidly down the steps. That’s when they stopped.

Or at least Mikasa and Armin did- without so much as a breath Eren had launched into one of the corner booths, back to the counter and drinks menu up to hide his scarlet face. It was just for show, he could recite it from memory- and Armin knew why, joining the queue behind a rather short man in a dark jacket, with an undercut to kill. Luckily the man ordered quickly and walked passed them, or Armin feared he would have noticed Mikasa’s far from discreet hand hitting his arm repeatedly. They ordered quickly, waving to Sasha as she passed behind the counter to the kitchen. Turning around them though, they were met with yet another unexpected sight.

Eren hadn’t stop blushing. His gaze, on the other hand, had moved slightly above the menu. It was fixated now on the only booth behind their own- where Undercut was sitting. The intimidating man was sipping at the styrofoam cup in his hands, gripping it from the top oddly, in a way that should’ve meant his hand burning but didn’t seem to bother him. As they watched he glanced up from the book he clasped, causing Eren to practically slap himself in the face with the menu. Mikasa and Armin mercifully took their seats between the two, Eren downing his cream-topped, marshmallow-filled, vanilla-syruped hot chocolate as if it was a shot. He proceeded to buzz for the next twenty minutes, possibly the only reason Mikasa and Armin decided to do what they did.

When Undercut left the store they left their seats, heading back to the counter, beckoning to Sasha in what they hoped was a casual way. The ponytailed server had become a close friend of the trio over their visits, and wore a wide grin which stretched her pretty face.  
“Hey Sasha” Armin leaned across the counter shadily, and from the corner of her eye Mikasa noted Eren stumbling over from his seat, finally looking suspicious “who was that man earlier?”  
Sasha’s eyes lit up immediately “What man?”  
Eren had reached the counter now and was glaring at Armin as if he could burn holes through the back of his head. He stood with his arms crossed and head down, but the traces of a sugar rush made it impossible for him to look threatening- Mikasa was trying not to laugh at him.

“The one with an undercut that can solve world hunger.”  
“Right, the one with skin more flawless than Armin’s grades” Eren had his face in his hands, knowing exactly what his friends were doing “and-”  
“Enough.” Eren had finally put a hand over Mikasa’s mouth, stopping the spew of thing that, yes, he had said over the last month.  
“Oooohhhhhh EREN!” Sasha was making shocked faces to the socially awkward teen, currently about one candy cane away from beating Armin to death.  
“Seriously though Sasha, help us out. We’ve been hearing about this guy for a month.”  
The server laughed at them. “Ok, ok. His name’s Levi. He comes in here occasionally, mostly on the coldest days, and always either both days of the weekend or neither. Really picky eater” Sasha had trailed off, looking down in thought.  
“Thanks Sasha” Mikasa was moving away from the counter, pulling Armin with her “I guess you’ll see us tomorrow then.”  
“What! Mikasa-” Eren tried to protest, but it was no use. His friends were heading briskly out of the door and he had no choice but to follow them.  
“Oh and Eren!” The green eyed boy turned at the sound of Sasha’s voice “He orders black tea. Always.” The brunette winked at him, before moving back to the kitchen.

Mikasa and Armin were shocked the next day that they could even get Eren out of his house. They were successfully heading to the manga shop now, but Eren had been grumpy all morning, and at this point they had to stop almost periodically to drag him through the streets. When they reached the cafe door, the two let go of his arms quickly.  
Levi was near the door, crouching low on the stone and petting a dog tied to the bike rack outside. He ran his fingers through the dog's thick black fur and smiled as it barked happily at him. He looked up, and saw the young boy staring down at him.

When Eren disappeared into the cafe Mikasa and Armin sighed, equally disappointed at their friends reaction and guilty they had put him in a clearly uncomfortable situation. They started to follow him through the doors, but were surprised when they saw their friend re-emerge quickly. In his hands Eren held a steaming cup of black tea and, kneeling, he held it out to Levi. The older man smiled at Eren, and Mikasa and Armin decided to enter the cafe, leaving the two huddled dark figures outside, their breath forming white smoke around them.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written a while ago but i forgot to post it AGHH oops  
> Sooo the series I have been writing and mentioned before will be the next thing I post, probably on New Year, please check it out! You can also find me on instagram: andthesunranon  
> Thanks for reading as always,  
> L x


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